Tag Archives: Redd Foxx

Sammy Davis Jr, Redd Foxx, and Flip Wilson may have had the ability to make us all crack up with their comedic and acting talents, but there is also one thing they have in common that NONE of us would have predicted. The late legends took on a very regular job after becoming household names back in the day and it was all to help others. See details below…

What Did They Do AFTER Success?

You’d think that after all of the wealth and fame Foxx, Davis, and Wilson acquired in their careers, that they would’ve been far too busy to do anything else. Well, somehow all three of them found a way to become a police chief of predominantly African American cities. Unexpected right?

Sammy Davis Jr. was the second of the trio to become police chief, when he was appointed in 1975. He became the chief of police for the small town of Langston, Oklahoma, after accepting the appointment from then mayor, A.B. Prewitt.

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Flip Wilson was the third outta the legendary pack to accept his role as police chief of the small town of Boley, Oklahoma.

Also, as we previously reported, Redd Foxx was the first of the group, to be appointed police chief of the predominantly Black town. He was also the most vocal about it. In case y’all missed our prior report, check it out below:

In 1974 THE Redd Foxx became a police chief of Tafta, Oklahoma- a predominantly African American community of just 437 people. And yes, this was during the SAME time he was starring on “Sanford and Son.” That’s right, Redd Foxx would record his TV show during the day, do stand-up comedy at night, and drop by Tafta, Ok. to check on what he referred to as ‘his’ city on the weekends and every other chance he got. Ain’t that something?!!

Red explained to Jet Magazine in a 1974 interview, that he took his job as police chief very seriously:

“I told you this wouldn’t be no token job,” Foxx stated. And he also wanted it to be clear that he was the official police chief of Tafta and not some decorated and celebrated “honorary” one: “I want that clearly understood, Foxx stated. The deputies are official police who have full powers in my absence.”

Redd was the real deal in Tafta, he was there to swear in new deputies and make sure they were all doing their jobs correctly. In fact, a lot of the today’s police departments need a police chief like Redd Foxx. Check out how Redd trained his officers:

Via Jet: Redd Foxx admonished his deputies to “be careful; use a minimum of force” in carrying out their duties. […] “I want to be proud of this town,” Foxx told the deputies. “The eyes of the whole nation will be on Taft and we don’t want to give the impression that we are going to be hard-boiled about the law enforcement here.”

Redd Foxx continued…

“We don’t want to get a reputation for busting heads. I want you to dress neatly and gain respect.”

Like we said, we wish Redd Foxx were here to train some of these police chiefs and officers today, Lawd knows we need it.

Foxx’s main mission in being chief of Taft police at that time was building up the small community and maintaining peace:

“Taft will no longer be a forgotten town. We want paved streets and lights. We’re working to get them,” Foxx stated at that time.

So how did Redd Foxx actually become a police chief?
The idea came from Taft’s then mayor, Lelia Foley (pictured with Foxx in above left pic), the first Black mayor in the history of the U.S.. Foley stated this about Foxx at that time:

“I’m with him all the way and everyone in taft is proud of our famous chief of police.”

Foxx was extremely dedicated to making Taft a better place…not only did he work closely with the mayor and was very hands-on with his deputies, he also donated thousands of dollars to build the community up, including a new community swimming pool for the children of Tafta.

This says a lot about Redd Foxx’s character. He was the one of the most in-demand entertainers on TV, but yet he committed himself to a small town of just 437 people at that time. Although of course whenever people in the neighboring cities of Muskogee and Tulsa, Ok. would hear that there was an upcoming swearing-in ceremony of deputies and such, that town of 437 looked more like 4,037. Folks from all over the state would travel to Taft just to get a glimpse of the famous chief of Tafta police.

Job well done Mr. Foxx, Sammy Davis Jr, and Flip Wilson. Rest on Kings.

Source: Jet Magazine

Sanford and Son is classic black television at its finest and the show’s star, Redd Foxx, quickly rose to icon status with his wit and his grit playing the role of grumpy junk man Fred G. Sanford. But as we all know, when the cameras were off, Redd was by no means living the life of a junk dealer in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood. He’d amassed, and ultimately ran through, a very hefty fortune that once he passed away became fair game to not only his loved ones, but to the IRS as well.

Aside from making people laugh, Redd also loved the ladies, having been married four times. His fourth wife, a Korean woman named Ka Ho Foxx, had been married to Redd for a few months at the time of his death and entered into a financial showdown with Redd’s daughter, Debraca Denise, and the public administrator of Las Vegas (where Redd resided at the time of his death), John Cahill, for years after his death.

Foxx Family Fought Hard Over Redd’s Cash, Peep The Allegations

When Redd passed away at age 68 in 1991 he did so with no will in place to divide his funds to his family. He was also $3.6 million in debt. Debraca became responsible for Redd’s estate and his, of course, caused friction between her and her stepmother Ka Ho who felt like she should be the one in charge of Redd’s finances. However, their feud worsened when Ka Ho began accusing Debraca of being irresponsible with Redd’s money. According to Heirs and Successes;

When he died Redd lived in Las Vegas, as he died without a Will Foxx’s daughter, Debraca Foxx, was appointed as the administrator of his estate. Redd had been married four times and his fourth wife and widow, Ka Ho Foxx, accused Debraca of failing to provide accounts of revenue received in royalties, residuals and licensing deals since her father’s death. Ka Ho believed that Debraca had been taking money for herself that should have gone toward paying down the estates tax debt.

Due to this family infighting, in 2006 the Nevada probate court appointed the public administrator to administer the estate. The administrator stated that his goal was to “settle Redd’s estate pay all taxes owed and get money for his heirs”

What Happened When They Tried To Sell His Life Story

Once John Cahill took over he tried to generate funds for Redd’s estate, by attempting to sell his life story, which falls in line under Nevada’s law to market someone’s “right of publicity”, granting permission to market someone’s image and likeness for profit. Unfortunately, Ka Ho was having none of that as she wanted to be the one to make money off of Redd’s legacy.

However, while the estate owns the right to profit from Foxx’s name, image and likeness, it may not own the rights for a “life story”.  It has also been reported that Ka Ho objects to the marketing of Redd’s life story to anyone but her and plans to go to court to stop this from happening.

Hopefully this issue has resolved itself, but let this serve as a lesson that you should always have your affairs in order with legal documentation to avoid the kinds of headaches the Foxx family has encountered since Redd’s passing nearly thirty years ago.

“You’re So Vain” singer, Carly Simon, claims she had some very risqué encounters with two old school icons- Redd Foxx and Marvin Gaye. When we first read what she revealed in her 2015 autobiography, Boys In The Trees, we let out a collective, ‘Say whaaaat?!!’. Though, I must admit that after reading Janis Gaye’s (Marvin Gaye’s wife) autobiography, we were not completely shocked at Carly’s claims about Marvin…but the story she told about Redd Foxx was a little more surprising. Why? Because we don’t typically hear those types of claims about the late comedic icon, unlike the beloved Mr. Gaye.

Simon alleged that before she hit it big in music, she was working as a secretary for a TV variety show, and it was during that time that she was sexually advanced upon by both legends in a bold, no-holds-barred type of way. Below is what was Rolling Stone Magazine detailed about Simon’s encounters with Foxx and Gaye.

Carly Simon’s claims about Redd Foxx:

When Simon’s career was slow to take off, she found jobs as a summer-camp counselor and as a secretary on a TV variety show. Her first day on the set, she had to go to the dressing room of comedian Redd Foxx, who promptly dropped his trademark red-fox fur coat, revealing that he was stark naked underneath. She quickly fled.

Carly Simon’s claims about Marvin Gaye:

Marvin Gaye, in his dressing room, was stripped only to the waist, but when he asked Simon to stick out her tongue, “Marvin lunged at my face, swept my tongue into his mouth, and began sucking on it. I extracted it without inflicting damage.”

Simon’s Admitted Fling With Jack Nicholson
Additionally, Carly Simon confessed to one such advance in her book…the one she says actor, Jack Nicholson, made toward her back in the day According to Rolling Stone, Jack’s reported advance toward Carly turned into a sexual fling:

When Jack Nicholson was making Carnal Knowledge with “Bugs, Artie the Garf, and Mike the Nick,” as he called them (Candice Bergen, Art Garfunkel, and Mike Nichols), he spent a couple of nights at Simon’s New York apartment. The first night, he showed off his seduction technique after she made a pot of coffee: “We chatted for a few moments and then he said, offhandedly, ‘Do you ever drink coffee in your bedroom?’”

Anywho…if Carly Simon’s claims are true, it sounds like Redd Foxx was trying to get Carly the heck up outta his dressing room ASAP — either that, or he was trying to get her to come in and “turn off the lights,” like Teddy P. once sang.  As far as Carly’s alleged ‘Marvin Gaye encounter,’ that was just weird. Well…both encounters were weird, but the thing that we’re still curious about for both incidents, is what exactly happened immediately afterwards, and how awkward was it that very next time Carly Simon saw Foxx and Gaye at her job?

One thing’s for certain, if Carly’s claims are accurate, then Marvin Gaye and Redd Foxx must’ve been making some hella bold advances back in the day.

Demond Wilson and Redd Foxx played junk men on “Sanford and Son,” but geesh…their network didn’t have to treat them like one! Well, at least that’s what happened according to Demond Wilson a.k.a. “Lamont.” Demond revealed some shocking information about how NBC treated two of their top ranking stars back in the day and how he and Redd Foxx were NOT trying to hear that. He detailed it all in a prior interview with “On Your Mental Health.”

“Prior to Redd and I, there was only one [black show on television] there was Amos and Andy. [Other shows at the time] were not Black shows, there were Blacks IN shows. There hasn’t been an all Black sitcom in…years. They stick all of Black sitcoms today on Cable. [Redd and I] we were breaking ground, we were making history. There was no play book that they could govern Redd and I…because there hadn’t been anybody like us before.”

He continued:

“We were dressing in the men’s room. When our first show aired…[the ratings] went through the ceiling and then Redd and I started dealing with them like men. Redd and I were making history and they tried to deal with us like we were third-class field hands and we said ‘NO that’s not happening!’ I was recently back from Vietnam and Redd grew up in the streets, and so I’m from Harlem, Redd is from St. Louis…[but] he spent a lot of time in Harlem. I have been silent for over 30 years. I have not spoken out against the atrocities that were perpetrated against us.”

 

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After Redd Foxx became completely fed up with the treatment they were enduring he left the show:

“Contrary to popular belief, Sanford and Son was never canceled; you don’t cancel a show in the top 10—Redd decided to leave.”

Demond became an ordained minister in 1984 and here is his take on the state of today’s reality entertainment and the current music industry:

“I believe that we’re living in the last days. The world to day is drunk off of the wine of inequity and I listen to some of these misogynistic rappers that make statements like we want to have the money the power and then we’ll get the respect…and there’s only power perceived, there’s no real power. If you have money you don’t have any power to do anything other than buy things. You don’t have the power to save your own souls and it’s sad. It seems as though with all of these reality shows, a lot of people have sold out and their going for the things of this world and nobody is focused today on anything other than themselves and what they can get for themselves…and even the folks that go to church, most of them are just religious spirit. You know they go in there and listen to these gospel singers who are self-centered and want to have a career and a lot of money and many of them, they’re anointed a lot of them because the anointing comes without reproach, you can be anointed and not be living close to God. And they sing these songs and the people feel good and as soon as they leave church they go right back to their self existence and it’s kind of sad the condition of the world today.”

What Demond Wilson thinks about Michael Jackson and folks treating him like a “god” ever since he was a kid:

“I’m looking at the late Michael Jackson who was a little kid from Gary, In…who just sold himself out and allowed the adversaries to transform him into nobody knows what he is and it was very sad. I look at people around the world- they’re lording this kid as though he was a God and that’s idolotry. Anything that you place in your heart…that takes the precedence over your relationship with God is idolatry…it’s an idol. My priorities for the last 25 years have been my personal relationship with God, my family, and my career- in that order and if it’s not in that order, it’s out of order.”

Whew! Demond Wilson doesn’t hold his tongue for nobody and I’m glad that he and Redd Foxx weren’t willing to take less than what they felt they deserved. The inequalities in the entertainment industry are still just as prevalent today, just ask some of today’s top actors like Taraji P. Henson, Monique, and Denzel Washington, whom have all spoken out about the lopsided justices within the entertainment world. They have come a long way, but there is still more work to do and actors like Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson helped to set the tone for that road to equal treatment for African American actors to take place now.

Do you agree with everything Demond said regarding today’s entertainment?

Source

Redd Foxx wasn’t the only funny one in his family, he credited his brother with that title as well. He also credited his brother for fueling him with motivation to become a comedy star, but when you see the incredible things he did for his big bro’ on Sanford and Son (and beyond), you’ll probably gain even more respect for Foxx, one of the greatest to have EVER done it.

Foxx’s brother, was oftentimes in and out of jail during Redd’s younger years and he died well before Redd Foxx did. But the Sanford & Son superstar spent the rest of his life honoring his brother…check out what Foxx once revealed about this in excerpts from a Jet Magazine interview…

What Redd Foxx Did To Honor His Brother

Redd Foxx paid homage to his late brother (pictured below) in a way that falls right in line with the thoughtful, generous brotha all of Foxx’s friends and family knew him to be:

– His brother is the REAL “Fred G. Sanford.” Foxx’s real name is John Elroy Sanford and his brother’s real name is Fred G. Sanford. Yep you read that right, Redd Foxx made sure that the “Sanford and Son” execs allowed him to name his character so that he could honor the memory of his brother, Fred, who’d died five years before the show premiered.

– Their dad’s name was Fred G. Sanford also, but Foxx didn’t name his character after him because he left his family when Redd was just 4 years old. Therefore, Foxx grew up idolizing his big brother instead.

Foxx Explained Why He Regularly Performed In Prisons Across The Country

During the height of his career, many people thought Redd was crazy for so-called ‘wasting his time and money’ to perform for convicts in prisons. But again, Fred was very thoughtful and a man of great character, so in honor of his brother, who was also an ex-con and because he understood that prisoners were still human beings and not throw-aways, he dedicated his life to performing in prisons. Here’s what he told Jet Magazine about this back in the day:

“My brother was a first baseman but he could never get a break in baseball at that time because of race prejudice,” Foxx [said]. Although their mother worked as a domestic for Harry Grabner, who was an executive for the White Sox baseball team, Fred couldn’t play for the Sox.

“The World was not ready for a Black player on a White team in 1937. My brother was the best first basemen in Chicago, but he never got the chance and turned to robbery,” Foxx said. “He was like a lot of other kids who turned to crime because of lack of opportunity for their natural talent.

Fred ended up earning record breaking plaques and awards while in prison for his outstanding baseball skills on the prison teams. Red Foxx explained why he was so passionate about honoring his brother by performing in prisons:

“I’ve been to almost every prison in America, but you never read about it. I’ve been to Atlanta Federal, to prisons in San Francisco and to the one in Chicago several times. I’ve been to Attica (in New York). I’ve been to Sing Sing in Rahway Penitentiary in New Jersey. I’ve been to most all of them.

“The memory of my brother is the story behind these appearances. My brother, Fred, is the one I named my TV character (on “Sanford and Son”) after. […] He always told me how important it was that inmates got some entertainment inside the prison walls. So I just dedicated myself to it. After he passed, I started doing all those shows.”

And there you have it ILOSM fam!’ Another fun fact about an Old School icon who had a heart as large as his popularity. Rest on Redd Foxx, after a job well done.

Redd Foxx did a really risky, yet honorable thing for his friend, LaWanda Page, (Aunt Esther) back in the day. To understand why he did it, you have to first understand their history together. Redd and LaWanda were really close friends in real life, long before they were comedians. They were friends since their pre-teen years and they attended the same high school in St. Louis.

Birds Of A Feather

As they grew up, they both separately pursued comedy careers. I guess that explains why they were so close in the first place – ‘birds of a feather flock together’ and both of them had a reputation for being two of the most hilarious kids in the neighborhood back in the day.

They each started doing their own thing in stand-up comedy, making a name for themselves on the chitlin’ circuits and far beyond. Then eventually Redd Foxx got offered a starring role in a new TV show, Sanford and Son, and he suggested his childhood friend, LaWanda, for the role of “Aunt Esther.” Lawanda had just decided to step away from comedy and move back from L.A. to St. Louis to care of her very sick mother, when Foxx called her about the role. She worked it out and was able to audition for the part.

Redd Showed His True Character

Now this is where Redd really showed his character: Lawanda was offered the part. However, before any taping started, the producers noticed during rehearsals that Page was unfamiliar with the ins-and-outs of producing a television sitcom; she had been more accustomed to performing in nightclubs.

So one of the producers told Foxx that he was going to fire Page and hold auditions again for the “Aunt Esther” role, so that taping could begin. Foxx was like “hell no!” and insisted LaWanda play the part and he threatened to walk away from the show if she was given the boot. So of course, the producers stuck with Page, who proved all of them wrong and became one of the most memorable characters on TV during in the ’70’s.

Criticized For His Use Of Profanity

Redd Foxx was sometimes criticized by media critics for his profanity, but it’s incredible that you never heard these types of stories about the man who many close friends and loved ones have always described as a very giving person and a man with great character. Much respect to Mr. Foxx for risking his career to help his friend.

Sanford and Son is classic black television at its finest and the show’s star, Redd Foxx, quickly rose to icon status with his wit and his grit playing the role of grumpy junk man Fred G. Sanford. But as we all know, when the cameras were off, Redd was by no means living the life of a junk dealer in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood. He’d amassed, and ultimately ran through, a very hefty fortune that once he passed away became fair game to not only his loved ones, but to the IRS as well.

Aside from making people laugh, Redd also loved the ladies, having been married four times. His fourth wife, a Korean woman named Ka Ho Foxx, had been married to Redd for a few months at the time of his death and entered into a financial showdown with Redd’s daughter, Debraca Denise, and the public administrator of Las Vegas (where Redd resided at the time of his death), John Cahill, for years after his death.

Foxx Family Fought Hard Over Redd’s Cash, Peep The Allegations

When Redd passed away at age 68 in 1991 he did so with no will in place to divide his funds to his family. He was also $3.6 million in debt. Debraca became responsible for Redd’s estate and his, of course, caused friction between her and her stepmother Ka Ho who felt like she should be the one in charge of Redd’s finances. However, their feud worsened when Ka Ho began accusing Debraca of being irresponsible with Redd’s money. According to Heirs and Successes;

When he died Redd lived in Las Vegas, as he died without a Will Foxx’s daughter, Debraca Foxx, was appointed as the administrator of his estate. Redd had been married four times and his fourth wife and widow, Ka Ho Foxx, accused Debraca of failing to provide accounts of revenue received in royalties, residuals and licensing deals since her father’s death. Ka Ho believed that Debraca had been taking money for herself that should have gone toward paying down the estates tax debt.

Due to this family infighting, in 2006 the Nevada probate court appointed the public administrator to administer the estate. The administrator stated that his goal was to “settle Redd’s estate pay all taxes owed and get money for his heirs”

What Happened When They Tried To Sell His Life Story

Once John Cahill took over he tried to generate funds for Redd’s estate, by attempting to sell his life story, which falls in line under Nevada’s law to market someone’s “right of publicity”, granting permission to market someone’s image and likeness for profit. Unfortunately, Ka Ho was having none of that as she wanted to be the one to make money off of Redd’s legacy.

However, while the estate owns the right to profit from Foxx’s name, image and likeness, it may not own the rights for a “life story”.  It has also been reported that Ka Ho objects to the marketing of Redd’s life story to anyone but her and plans to go to court to stop this from happening.

Hopefully this issue has resolved itself. However, let this serve as a lesson that we should always have our affairs in order with legal documentation, in order to avoid the kinds of headaches the Foxx family has encountered since Redd’s passing thirty years ago.

Redd Foxx was a household name to millions, but he was something much greater to a select group of people. Your respect for him will probably multiply times a thousand when you see this.

REDD FOXX’S REAL-LIFE JOB WHILE STARRING ON “SANFORD and SON”

In 1974 THE Redd Foxx became a police chief of Tafta, Oklahoma- a predominantly African American community of just 437 people. And yes, this was during the SAME time he was starring on “Sanford and Son.” That’s right, Redd Foxx would record his TV show during the day, do stand-up comedy at night, and drop by Tafta, Ok. to check on what he referred to as ‘his’ city on the weekends and every other chance he got. Ain’t that something?!!

Red explained to Jet Magazine in a 1974 interview, that he took his job as police chief very seriously:

“I told you this wouldn’t be no token job,” Foxx stated. And he also wanted it to be clear that he was the official police chief of Tafta and not some decorated and celebrated “honorary” one: “I want that clearly understood, Foxx stated. The deputies are official police who have full powers in my absence.”

Redd was the real deal in Tafta, he was there to swear in new deputies and make sure they were all doing their jobs correctly. In fact, a lot of the today’s police departments need a police chief like Redd Foxx. Check out how Redd trained his officers:

Via Jet: Redd Foxx admonished his deputies to “be careful; use a minimum of force” in carrying out their duties. […] “I want to be proud of this town,” Foxx told the deputies. “The eyes of the whole nation will be on Taft and we don’t want to give the impression that we are going to be hard-boiled about the law enforcement here.”

Redd Foxx continued…

“We don’t want to get a reputation for busting heads. I want you to dress neatly and gain respect.”

Like we said, we wish Redd Foxx were here to train some of these police chiefs and officers today, Lawd knows we need it.

Foxx’s main mission in being chief of Taft police at that time was building up the small community and maintaining peace:

“Taft will no longer be a forgotten town. We want paved streets and lights. We’re working to get them,” Foxx stated at that time.

HOW REDD FOXX BECAME POLICE CHIEF OF TAFTA, OK

So how did Redd Foxx actually become a police chief?  The idea came from Taft’s then mayor, Lelia Foley, the first Black mayor in the history of the U.S.. Foley stated this about Foxx at that time:

“I’m with him all the way and everyone in taft is proud of our famous chief of police.”

Foxx was extremely dedicated to making Taft a better place…not only did he work closely with the mayor and was very hands-on with his deputies, he also donated thousands of dollars to build the community up, including a new community swimming pool for the children of Tafta.

This says a lot about Redd Foxx’s character. He was the one of the most in-demand entertainers on TV, but yet he committed himself to a small town of just 437 people at that time. Although of course whenever people in the neighboring cities of Muskogee and Tulsa, Ok. would hear that there was an upcoming swearing-in ceremony of deputies and such, that town of 437 looked more like 4,037. Folks from all over the state would travel to Taft just to get a glimpse of the famous chief of Tafta police.

Job well done Mr. Foxx, rest on.

Redd Foxx did a really risky, yet honorable thing for his friend, LaWanda Page, (Aunt Esther) back in the day. To understand why he did it, you have to first understand their history together. Redd and LaWanda were really close friends in real life, long before they were comedians. They were friends since their pre-teen years and they attended the same high school in St. Louis.

Birds Of A Feather

As they grew up, they both separately pursued comedy careers. I guess that explains why they were so close in the first place – ‘birds of a feather flock together’ and both of them had a reputation for being two of the most hilarious kids in the neighborhood back in the day.

They each started doing their own thing in stand-up comedy, making a name for themselves on the chitlin’ circuits and far beyond. Then eventually Redd Foxx got offered a starring role in a new TV show, Sanford and Son, and he suggested his childhood friend, LaWanda, for the role of “Aunt Esther.” Lawanda had just decided to step away from comedy and move back from L.A. to St. Louis to care of her very sick mother, when Foxx called her about the role. She worked it out and was able to audition for the part.

Redd Showed His True Character

Now this is where Redd really showed his character: Lawanda was offered the part. However, before any taping started, the producers noticed during rehearsals that Page was unfamiliar with the ins-and-outs of producing a television sitcom; she had been more accustomed to performing in nightclubs.

So one of the producers told Foxx that he was going to fire Page and hold auditions again for the “Aunt Esther” role, so that taping could begin. Foxx was like “hell no!” and insisted LaWanda play the part and he threatened to walk away from the show if she was given the boot. So of course, the producers stuck with Page, who proved all of them wrong and became one of the most memorable characters on TV during in the ’70’s.

Criticized For His Use Of Profanity

Redd Foxx was sometimes criticized by media critics for his profanity, but it’s incredible that you never heard these types of stories about the man who many close friends and loved ones have always described as a very giving person and a man with great character. Much respect to Mr. Foxx for risking his career to help his friend.

Demond Wilson and Redd Foxx played junk men on “Sanford and Son,” but geesh…their network didn’t have to treat them like one! Well, at least that’s what happened according to Demond Wilson a.k.a. “Lamont.” Demond revealed some shocking information about how NBC treated two of their top ranking stars back in the day and how he and Redd Foxx were NOT trying to hear that. He detailed it all in a prior interview with “On Your Mental Health.”

“Prior to Redd and I, there was only one [black show on television] there was Amos and Andy. [Other shows at the time] were not Black shows, there were Blacks IN shows. There hasn’t been an all Black sitcom in…years. They stick all of Black sitcoms today on Cable. [Redd and I] we were breaking ground, we were making history. There was no play book that they could govern Redd and I…because there hadn’t been anybody like us before.”

He continued:

“We were dressing in the men’s room. When our first show aired…[the ratings] went through the ceiling and then Redd and I started dealing with them like men. Redd and I were making history and they tried to deal with us like we were third-class field hands and we said ‘NO that’s not happening!’ I was recently back from Vietnam and Redd grew up in the streets, and so I’m from Harlem, Redd is from St. Louis…[but] he spent a lot of time in Harlem. I have been silent for over 30 years. I have not spoken out against the atrocities that were perpetrated against us.”

 

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After Redd Foxx became completely fed up with the treatment they were enduring he left the show:

“Contrary to popular belief, Sanford and Son was never canceled; you don’t cancel a show in the top 10—Redd decided to leave.”

Demond became an ordained minister in 1984 and here is his take on the state of today’s reality entertainment and the current music industry:

“I believe that we’re living in the last days. The world to day is drunk off of the wine of inequity and I listen to some of these misogynistic rappers that make statements like we want to have the money the power and then we’ll get the respect…and there’s only power perceived, there’s no real power. If you have money you don’t have any power to do anything other than buy things. You don’t have the power to save your own souls and it’s sad. It seems as though with all of these reality shows, a lot of people have sold out and their going for the things of this world and nobody is focused today on anything other than themselves and what they can get for themselves…and even the folks that go to church, most of them are just religious spirit. You know they go in there and listen to these gospel singers who are self-centered and want to have a career and a lot of money and many of them, they’re anointed a lot of them because the anointing comes without reproach, you can be anointed and not be living close to God. And they sing these songs and the people feel good and as soon as they leave church they go right back to their self existence and it’s kind of sad the condition of the world today.”

What Demond Wilson thinks about Michael Jackson and folks treating him like a “god” ever since he was a kid:

“I’m looking at the late Michael Jackson who was a little kid from Gary, In…who just sold himself out and allowed the adversaries to transform him into nobody knows what he is and it was very sad. I look at people around the world- they’re lording this kid as though he was a God and that’s idolotry. Anything that you place in your heart…that takes the precedence over your relationship with God is idolatry…it’s an idol. My priorities for the last 25 years have been my personal relationship with God, my family, and my career- in that order and if it’s not in that order, it’s out of order.”

Whew! Demond Wilson doesn’t hold his tongue for nobody and I’m glad that he and Redd Foxx weren’t willing to take less than what they felt they deserved. The inequalities in the entertainment industry are still just as prevalent today, just ask some of today’s top actors like Taraji P. Henson, Monique, and Denzel Washington, whom have all spoken out about the lopsided justices within the entertainment world. They have come a long way, but there is still more work to do and actors like Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson helped to set the tone for that road to equal treatment for African American actors to take place now.

Do you agree with everything Demond said regarding today’s entertainment?

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